[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 48419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22946]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement,
Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Washington
AGENCY: National Park Service.
ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS).
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the General Management Plan,
Whitman Mission National Historic Site. This notice also announces
public meetings for the purpose of information exchange and receiving
public comments on the DEIS. All comments received will become part of
the public record and copies of comments, including names, addresses
and telephone numbers provided by respondents, may be released for
public inspection.
DATES: Comments on the DEIS should be received no later than November
12, 1999. Public meetings, for the purpose of receiving comments and
information exchange, will be held in Walla Walla, WA, on September 29,
1999, 7-9 p.m. at the Walla Walla Community College Administrative
Building Dining Room, and in Mission, OR, on September 30, 1999, 6-8
p.m. at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Yellowhawk Conference Room.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS should be submitted to
Superintendent, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Route 2, Box
247, Walla Walla, WA 99362-9699, (509) 522-6360.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This DEIS for the General Management Plan
presents a proposed action and three alternative strategies for guiding
future management of the national historic site. Alternative A is a
continuation of current management practices, often referred to as a
``no action'' alternative. Alternative B provides a minimum level of
improvements regarding visitor facilities and interpretation in order
to make the visitor experience more rewarding and informative.
Alternative C is the ``preferred alternative'' and proposed action
by the National Park Service. This alternative includes provisions for
a three-dimensional delineation of the original structures,
substitution of native grasses for the existing lawn at the Mission
Grounds, a recreational trail along the riparian area of the Walla
Walla River, construction of additional exhibit and administrative
space in the visitor center, and possible acquisition by a non-profit
land trust of conservation easements on visually sensitive properties
adjacent to the national historic site. In addition, Alternative C
contains a development concept plan to include reconfiguration of the
main parking lot, addition of a group shelter to the picnic area,
improvements to the visitor center entry, construction of additional
administrative space on the administrative wing, and reconfiguration of
pedestrian access to the Oregon Trail and the Mission Grounds.
Alternative D goes beyond the preferred alternative, building on
the initiatives of Alternative C. It would include establishing
historic fence alignments and enlarging the orchard, conducting
archeological research regarding the Whitman sawmill site, permitting
cattle grazing in the pasture and river oxbow, replicating a Cayuse
village on the Walla Walla River floodplain, constructing a new
administrative building, and recommending an approximate 450-acre
boundary adjustment to protect the foreground viewshed. The DEIS
evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with the
strategies comprising the four alternatives.
Copies of the Draft General Management Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement can be obtained from Whitman Mission National Historic
Site, Route 2, Box 247, Walla Walla, WA 99362-9699. They are also
available at public libraries in the Walla Walla area and on the
internet at www.NPS.gov.
Dated: August 24, 1999.
Rory D. Westberg,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 99-22946 Filed 9-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P
